Georgia ends Auburn's season; Remains alive for NCAA Tournament

HOOVER, Ala. – The Auburn baseball season came to an end on Thursday afternoon at the SEC Tournament as the Tigers fell to Georgia 3-2 in a tournament elimination game. The loss evened Auburn's record at 29-29, ending any hopes of a post-season berth as at-large teams must be above .500 to be eligible.

"When the season ends abruptly there are a lot of emotions going through the team right now," Auburn Head Coach John Pawlowski said. "It's obviously frustrating for a number of reasons but I do want to say how much I appreciate the effort of my team. Our backs were against the wall for a good part of the season and we kept battling. I am proud of the way they handled themselves and the way they competed every day, and they did that again today."

Auburn built a 2-0 lead after five as Casey McElroy (2-for-3, BB) belted his ninth home run of the season to start the fourth and Tony Caldwell (2-for-4) singled home Creede Simpson (1-for-3, BB) in the fifth.

That was it for the Auburn offense, however, as Auburn was held without a hit after Caldwell's RBI single until Brooks Beisner stroked a two-out pinch hit single to center in the ninth. Auburn finished with seven hits after getting six on Wednesday against South Carolina.

Derek Varnadore (6-3) stifled the Georgia offense for the first five innings, allowing four hits and striking out five before running into trouble in what turned out to be the decisive inning as Georgia scored three times in the sixth on four hits and an error.

Levi Hyams (1-for-5) opened the frame with a single and went to second on a sac bunt. A single by Kyle Farmer (1-for-4) put runners on the corners for Zach Cone (1-for-4), who doubled in Hyams to make it a one run game, 2-1. Chase Davidson then bounced one to McElroy at short but his throw to first was low and skipped past Kevin Patterson, allowing both Farmer and Cone to score.

Alex Wood (5-7) threw a complete game for Georgia (29-29) to pick up the win and extend its season for at least one more game. Wood struck out eight and walked three.